mark skinner

I recently had to replace my failing Roland interface. I picked up a Tascam US 2x2 to get me by for now. Perfectly adequate for what I do , but I've never been quite sure of the sound. When I'm done tracking and satisfied with the everything , I shut everything down for the night. The next morning I'll boot up and everything sounds muddy and scattered. Confusing when everything sounded great the night before.. I accidently knocked my stand over and my condenser mic hit my desk Hard. Knowing I smashed the grill , I ran my fingernail over it to check it out and heard the scratching thru my monitors. Phantom power was Off. Turns out that when I first boot up the pc and my USB interface powers up , there is voltage sent to the mic but not the full 48v. Turning the phantom power on then off again drops it to 0. My mic has been picking up the monitors and messing with the mix in the mornings. I normally just turn the phantom power off when going from headphones to monitors with no problems. This has been something I've been fighting for awhile and made me question Everything. I'm glad I knocked my mic over (while it was close to my monitors). I guess troubleshooting isn't always so straight forward and I guess you get what you pay for .. mark

Smooth .. I really appreciated the triplet percussion driving everything. Wondering how you achieved it. The relaxed vocals were Fantastic. mark

Not just the performance , the "mix" was Awesome. Top notch production ! Loved it .. mark

I thought that was a Beautiful and Well performed song. There were a few spots that reminded me of Paul Simon. I thought the guitar tones were awesome and thought I heard a pedal steel at one point ?? Enjoyed it . Fantastic job .. mark

Great Production ! I'd love some information about the Fantastic drum track .. Nice .. mark

Keith , first off Great job on the vocals , I especially liked the Ahh section. I think you got a really good balance between the main vocals and the harmony on the "chorus" sections. I think the verse sections are lacking the "main" vocal with the harmony's taking center stage. It made me miss the flow and feel you had going in your first version. Maybe they could be balanced a little more like the chorus sections. I enjoyed hearing this one again. mark

This video brought back some memories and most were good for this version of windows. What I really thought was "funny" was how they referred to the version of windows that they used in school. We were still using slide rules ! This is a Halloween Community College project I created (music computer lit) using a Win 98 notebook running Music Creator 3 (I think). The finished wav then went to the film class for a video production. It was pretty cool , wish I still had a copy .. All done in piano roll with a wireless mouse. "Never" froze or crashed . I Much later ran the original thru Ozone for a final mix , and kept it just for the memory. Enjoy or not .. mark https://soundclick.com/r/s8n8j7

Like everyone , I'm loving the sax (and the vibes) . I do think if you check your "lows" on the tracks , you'll find there's plenty of room for some high passing. I believe the song could sound cleaner pulling a little of the bottom end out. Especially for one pitched this low. I think it's mainly the rhythm guitar and bass. As far as the piano , I didn't listen to the first mix , but my first impressions were that it needed a little different EQ and try to tame the attack some . I'm not really sure of what I would do except maybe pull out some around 1K. and see if a different reverb would make it sit better in the mix. Anyway .. I Always appreciate the many suggestions I get when posting something , and I Really did like this song ! Enjoyed it .. mark

Wookie , I Always enjoy listening to your work and this one was sweet indeed . I especially enjoyed the subtle bow stroke sound on the arp parts. Enjoyed it .. mark

This song is Very Easy to listen to. I'm sure it was a pretty complex project but you have captured the simplicity of the song. I thought the vocals and mandolin tone was Excellent. Enjoyed it .. mark

Gary , this is a Really Nice one. I love the pristine reverb and space around the guitar. I hope you can duplicate it when you track the song again. Good luck I can't wait to hear where it goes .. mark

Amazing talent ! He can even slap a capo on the1st fret and doesn't have to retune. I'm going to have look him up. Thanks mark

Steve , Very Nice .. I always wanted to cover this one , mainly for the cello parts. I Really enjoyed reading the backstory about the song . Thanks for that. I thoroughly enjoyed the cover . Great job .. mark

I Always Love your violin work , and this one Really shows your talent. That being said .. the drum track is what really grabbed me . It was "perfect" for this kind of production. The only thing missing was surround sound. Enjoyed it .. mark

Jesse , I sure did like this one . Several years ago on a beautiful day , drifting in my boat and quietly fishing. I got "one too many" phone calls and threw my phone as far as I could into the river. I haven't looked back .. and still don't own one. There is somehow a since of freedom knowing you are on your own and may have to fend for yourself at any time.. Enjoyed it .. mark

Very Nice .. I like both version but this one gave me that familiar feel of the original. Enjoyed it .. mark

Bjorn , I have always been intrigued by throat singing and how it's done. It seems very easy for several bird species , especially cow birds , and it seems like the sound created by a good didgeridoo player. Most of the examples I've heard have been pitched real low with a phased drone sound. I've never heard it pitched up like in the samples you've presented. Now I'm even more intrigued , if it is possible in that register. I enjoyed the song , pretty experimental .. mark

Jesse , I Really like the hypnotic feel you've got going on this one. I especially liked the drums and well played bass track. I also think the FX on your vocals was Very nice! I do think the ending was abrupt. This is probably my favorite experimental track you've posted. Enjoyed it . mark

Bruce , this is a Great well written song ! I am Really liking the guitar tones and the execution. Very nice playing. I think the vocals could come up a "little" bit , and I was for sure wanting to hear some more of the "Hey" sections come in and with an added higher harmony note. Fantastic job ! I Loved the mainstream feel of this one .. mark

@Wookiee @Bajan Blue @DeeringAmps Thanks guys for the positive feedback! @Jesse Screed Yes , I used my Takamine Ltd direct in. I tried using an acoustic impulse response with it but the old DSP preamp sounded much better. I'm still working on some vocal parts thanks to some pm help from @noynekker When I'm done with this last mix , I'll just tag it but won't bump it up again. You guys are Awesome. Thank You .. mark - Latest Mix - https://soundclick.com/r/s8n2t0

I've done some work on the vocals and a good bit on the drums. There's a lot more variations on the main drum pattern and some minor accents added. It's not so robotic and annoying now. Thank You for your input. New EQ/panning/New master. Appreciate your help .. mark -The top song link now also reflects the remix-

@noynekker Thanks for the input , I spent a good amount of time on the guitars until I got them sitting right. The high harmony was a little out of my range on the top note and I just missed it. Soloed it sounds weak and just Bad. I now have used the middle harmony high notes and built the part in melodyne. It sounds a Lot better now. I also adjusted a couple of the middle harmony notes. I Really appreciate you directing me to the problem area. (Gone Hollywood remix?) @DeeringAmps Thanks for weighing in. The annoying drum parts are on my end. I was too robotic and without velocity changes. I found some old videos showing Mic playing the drums and I'm now pretty Deep into editing my drum tracks. (tedious) @Bapu Thanks for the comment and drum suggestion. The toms may be a good way to break it up a little , if done right and in the right sections. I'll for sure give it a try. Thanks .. I'll update the mix before long . mark

Thanks Rick , I agree about the drums but at least I didn't put in the 16 second kick drum intro.. I also realized that I didn't turn off my headphone EQ offset in the master bus before exporting. I may redo my mastering pretty soon if I get any mix suggestions . Thanks for the listen .. mark

Great track brought forward at the right time. I thought the breaks after the bridge were awesome. I also thought the drums were Fantastic. Great job by everyone. Enjoyed it .. mark

Hello , my younger brother and biggest fan , thought this song would be a good fit for me and suggested that I try to cover it. I tried to give it more of a laid back feel than in the original. I hope you enjoy it , any and all crits and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks .. mark - Final Mix-